


Lay Back

by LunaMoth116



Series: Down to Earth [4]
Category: Mystery Science Theater 3000
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Cambot Needs More Love, Crack Treated Seriously, Established Relationship, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Smut, Masturbation, Non-Explicit, Other, PWP without Porn, Post-Series, Robot Feels, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Sex Toys, Strip Tease, The Author Regrets Nothing, Unconventional Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 22:19:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16921467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaMoth116/pseuds/LunaMoth116
Summary: Cambot likes to watch. Maria is more than happy to indulge him.Or: Cambot/human smut. Kind of. Sequel to “Cambot’s First Kiss”. Title from theKwabs songof the same name.





	Lay Back

**Author's Note:**

> _So. Yeah. This happened. How? All I can tell you is that ever since Maria Palmieri revealed herself as the one who gave Cambot his first kiss, I’ve wanted to write more about the two of them — particularly the story of how they eventually get together. Because why not take an already cracky premise and cook a few more rocks? However, until that story is told, have this. You don’t necessarily need to have read “Cambot’s First Kiss” (or any other stories in this series) beforehand, unless you want to know how these two met (and you know you do ^_~). Fun fact: I very nearly titled this “Cambot’s First Time”, but…yeah, quickly decided that wouldn’t work. *g*_   
>  _My thanks go to my dear Dandelionish, who embraces my madness (or enables it — you decide ^_~); to Disclosure, without whom I might not have discovered Kwabs, or[my new favorite song](https://youtu.be/1wc3RtxGftA); and to Feelysonheelys, who I hope is reading this (though I certainly understand if you’re not *g*), and whose encouraging and insightful comments are just as inspiring as her stories._   
>  _Even though I’ve been writing smut for years now (yeah, I can’t believe it either), doing so always pushes me out of my comfort zone, no matter what it entails. The premise of this one, though, took me so far out of that zone I knew I had to do it. I’ve read much kinkier (and crackier) stuff in this fandom, and per usual I aimed for emotion over action, but it’s still like nothing else I’ve ever written. (And not just because my Google search history exploded and died as a result…you’ll see why.) And for that alone, I’m proud of it. I hope you like it, too. :) Thank you for reading!_
> 
> **Disclaimer:** _Maria is mine; Cambot is not. (And even so, she’s really more his than mine. *g*)_

_“For what it’s worth_  
_I didn’t ask_  
_I only willed your heart to make it last_  
_Breathe_  
_Remember what it’s like to lay back_  
_Here we’re standing hand to heart_  
_I can feel the change_  
_There’s a fire we need to start_  
_From your love and pain_  
_Breathe_  
_Remember what it’s like to lay back…”_  


_~ “Layback”, Kwabs_  


_“You…you want to watch me?”_

_Grateful for once that he had no features that could blush or wince, nor a voice that could stutter, Cambot only nodded._

_Amazingly, Maria didn’t blanch or recoil; instead, she seemed to be thinking. Moments later, she smiled softly. “I think we can make that happen.”_

_Cambot nearly dropped to the ground. Even now, all this time later, she could still surprise him._

_The instant he started to slip, Maria moved forward in a flash and caught him. Her laughter echoed around him as she brought him towards her for a kiss. “Careful, Cambot. Save that for later, when you’ve got a soft place to land.” She lowered her voice. “Like my bed.”_

_A moment later, she blinked, blushing slightly. “Um…sorry, I’m not good at innuendo.”_

_Cambot beeped reassuringly as she cradled him against her chest._

_“‘Here’s soft enough’?” Maria pulled back and looked at him in mock reproach. “Wow, even_ you’re _better at innuendo than me. I don’t know whether to be proud or ashamed.”_

_For his part, Cambot was neither, merely content to just rest against her as she held him, feeling her chest rise with breaths he could never take, the comforting beat of her pulse echoing steadily against him._

_Was it still innuendo if it was just plain truth?_

 

That conversation had happened only a week ago. Now it was Friday evening, and Cambot hovered in Maria’s bedroom, waiting for her to shower after they’d come back from dinner. From his spot by her bed, he panned around the area, taking in the collection of posters, books, framed photos and even a few stuffed animals that decorated her room. The place was messy, with a path cut through to her bed around the piles of laundry and books that were arranged in careful heaps on the floor.

There had been no question about whose place they would do this at — lack of privacy at his house aside, his bedroom was a converted closet, which suited him just fine — but he couldn’t understand why she had been embarrassed to bring him in here. Everything in here reflected some aspect of who she was, all of which he’d gradually gotten to know over the last few months.

Above all, she was someone who cared for him enough to give him something no one else ever had. How fortuitous that she was the only one he’d ever want it from.

He turned at the sound of the door opening to see Maria standing there, wearing a shy smile and a different outfit from what she’d had on during dinner: a tight white polo with a low collar, a black pleated skirt and sheer black stockings. She’d applied a touch of makeup, cherry-red lipstick and a brush of mascara. The evening light slanting through the window glinted off the sheen of moisture on her blow-dried hair, pulled loosely into a knot behind her head; her dark eyes looked at him with an equally soft gleam.

Cambot didn’t need a photograph to store the sight of her in his memory banks forever.

“Hey.” Without even looking, she expertly wove her way down the path towards him. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Just had to check in with my dad.”

Cambot gave a few anxious beeps; Maria laughed as she patted him reassuringly. “Relax, Cambot. I called him at his hotel room to say goodnight. He definitely won’t be back tonight.”

Cambot hummed with relief. Despite Matt Palmieri’s gradual acceptance of their relationship, he was sure Maria’s father would not approve of what they were about to do. Maria, for her part, had laughed and told Cambot it was none of her father’s business, anyway; she might live with him and respect his rules, but when he was away, she would do as she liked. She was twenty-one, after all.

As they looked at each other, Maria gave a nervous laugh, her face flushing. “God, this is…this is so crazy.” She bit her lip before managing a small smile. “I’ve never done anything like this before.” Her gaze fell from his for a few moments; when she looked back, there was a new tenderness there. “Then again, I’ve never been with anyone like you before, either.”

Cambot beeped and nodded, the only way he could respond. It seemed so trivial just to agree with her, when being with her meant so much more. There had never been anyone like her before; there hadn’t been _anyone_ , period.

He knew the same wasn’t true for her. She’d told him a little about the men she’d dated and the few boyfriends she’d been intimate with; he knew about the only one she’d gone down on and the only one who’d gone down on her (not the same guy), about the afternoon she’d lost her virginity on her best friend’s couch while watching _Neon Genesis Evangelion_. He knew just as much as he’d wanted to know. It didn’t bother him that she’d been with others before — why would it? She was with him now.

Maria seemed to sense what he was thinking as she spoke again. “I’ve shared this part of myself with guys who…maybe didn’t deserve it. Who didn’t appreciate it.” She bit her lip. “You’re the first one in a long time who I think…might.”

For Cambot, there was no _might_ about it. He _would_ appreciate it. He would do everything in his power to deserve what she was giving him, to be someone worthy of what she was giving him. For _her_ , he couldn’t be anything less.

She deserved that much.

“Okay.” Maria inhaled deeply as Cambot looked at her. “Well, what are we waiting for?” She smiled nervously as she went to dim the lights, then walked over to her stereo. “Or maybe a better question is, what are _you_ waiting for?”

Cambot beeped; Maria grinned. “I thought so.” She plugged her music player into the stereo and made her selection. The song that streamed out of the speakers was warm and relaxed, yet sensual; he didn’t recognize the (male) singer’s voice, deep and rich and flowing like water around the soft beats of the lyrics.

Then _she_ looked at him, eyes wide and vulnerable, and the song seemed to fade to a hum.

He’d never envied Crow, Tom and even Gypsy their ability to grasp, to hold; what use was a grip when someone could use it to hold you in place, as he’d been tethered for so long? Yet as Maria approached him now, hands dropping to her sides, all he wanted was to reach out and hold them, to pull her into his embrace. Never mind that he could wrap himself in her hands, snuggle against her, pour everything he felt for her into his touch and know that she’d understand. He pressed into the crook of her neck, willing phantom arms to hold her, nonexistent fingers to brush her skin. Touch he’d never known, never wanted, never even thought of, until _her_.

She reached up, stroked him lightly, pressed a kiss just above his lens. “I know,” she whispered. “It’s all right. Let’s do this.”

He nodded, pulling back to take her in one last time. If he looked carefully enough, he could almost see his reflection in the light of her eyes. He knew she could see herself mirrored in his lens; did she see what he saw when he looked at her?

Maria stepped back, putting some distance between them, then started off slowly, simply dancing to the music as Cambot watched her. Her movements were hesitant at first, then gradually became bolder as the tempo increased and she seemed to relax a little, her confidence growing and her blush fading. Cambot panned up and down her body, committing every circle of her hips, every turn of her feet to memory. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman in the world — and she knew it, too.

Maria’s dance became slower, more sensual, as her fingers reached for the buttons of her collar. Gradually, almost painfully so, she began to undo them one by one, but turned before he could glimpse her cleavage, shooting a smile over her shoulder. He strained to see what she was doing, but she shook her head, deliberately refusing to turn around until he pulled back.

She turned then, dropping her hands to reveal her plunging neckline, the curves of her breasts peeking out from lace-trimmed black cups. She leaned forward, allowing him the briefest glance down her shirt.

She glided closer, lifting a finger to brush under him, then leaned in, her lips whisper-close — and pulled back, her breath misting his lens. It cleared just as she lightly pushed him back, and he did not resist, gaze still fixed firmly on her.

With a coy look, she crossed her arms and pulled her top over her head. The way her breasts bounced as the shirt peeled over them was mesmerizing. He could play that moment back a hundred times over, and took a moment to do so as she tossed the shirt his way, briefly blinding his view with white as it flew past him to land by her bed.

She kept her eyes locked on his lens, her gaze soft yet sultry as she reached to cup her bra-clad breasts, leaving no doubt as to who was in charge. He followed her hands as they slid down her sides, hips swaying as her thumbs hooked into the top of her skirt. She drew it down just slightly; as his gaze followed, she pulled the skirt back up, rotating her hips as she repeated the action and turned her back to him.

Cambot stared hungrily as she continued to dance, reaching for the zipper of her skirt. As she eased it off, she arched her back and…

Oh, _wow._ He hadn’t expected _that._

Cambot zoomed in for a long, close look as she eased her skirt down her legs, inching a bit further with every shake of her hips. She cast another smile over her shoulder as her skirt fell to the ground, but he barely noticed, focusing on the glide of her fingers down her legs and the way the stockings hugged her curves, almost as tightly as the panties that matched her bra.

As she straightened up, kicking the skirt away — who knew _that_ could be sexy? — she ran her hands up her body, taking her time as she looked back, watching his lens pan up with her. She was breathing harder now, a flush blossoming through her skin, but somehow Cambot didn’t think exertion was the cause.

Her hands continued their journey upwards, but she still faced away from him, instead swaying a little as he stared, captivated, at the curves and slopes of her back. He tore his eye away just in time to see her bending again as she reached behind her head. In one quick motion, her hair came loose and an ebony waterfall cascaded down her shoulders, sweeping in a graceful arc around her neck. Cambot had barely recovered from that sight when she tossed her head, flipping her glorious hair as she straightened up.

She was going to be the death of him. And he’d go out the happiest ’bot in the world.

Maria turned around to face him again, her smile never wavering as she reached for her bra. Instead of simply unclasping it, she slowly pushed one strap down her shoulder, then the other, letting them fall down her arms as his lens trailed each one. He strained to follow as her fingers made their way around her back, and she took that as her cue to about-face, daring to _wink_ at him as she did.

“This is what you want to see?” Her voice was low and breathy, barely audible over the music. “Then that’s what you’ll get…”

She reached up to undo the bra clasp, one tiny hook at a time, taking longest of all — or maybe it just seemed that way — with the last one. Finally, she let her arms drop and the bra tumbled with a whisper to the floor.

She folded her arms in front of her, still turned away. “Well?”

As stunning as the view of her naked back was, it wasn’t what Cambot was hungering for at the moment. Unable to help himself, he let out a low beep.

“What’s that?” Maria put a hand to her ear. “You said you want to admire me like this a little longer?”

Cambot’s answering beeps were quicker and higher-pitched.

“I’m sorry, I can’t quite hear you…” Maria leaned back, placing her other hand on her hip, tilting it towards him.

Cambot restrained himself just in time, keeping his response to a low hum. He did not want to seem desperate. That would only encourage her. Not that that was _such_ a bad thing…

“Maybe I should…” Unexpectedly, Maria whirled around to face him, wearing only her panties, stockings and a mischievous grin, without the least hint of self-consciousness. Cambot froze, but only for a moment before he began to pan her up and down, as slowly as he could.

Good grief, she was absolutely gorgeous. He’d always patiently listened to her complaints about her body — how she wanted to drop five pounds there, tone this, tan that — but he’d never understood any of them. Especially not now, with the way she was displaying herself for him, oozing confidence and sex appeal even the most stunning pin-up girl would envy. But she was better than any centerfold. She was real and flesh and blood and for his eye alone. He let his gaze linger over every inch of her, acknowledging rather than glossing over her imperfections, watching her as he might touch or taste her, drinking her in with the scope of his lens as a sommelier might savor a fine wine.

And if the way she was looking back at him, leaning towards him, _just so,_ was any indicator, she _knew_ what she was doing to him. Maybe all he was doing was watching, but he seemed to be doing the same thing to her.

“Like what you see?” Maria asked.

Her voice was still low and sultry, but for the first time since she’d begun her routine, he heard the tiniest waver there. The smallest suggestion of vulnerability, just a whisper of an unspoken question: _Do you still want me as I am?_

So help him, he didn’t understand how, but knowing that, hearing it without her saying it, somehow intensified everything he felt for her tenfold. He’d asked her that same question without words so many times before, every time he nuzzled her in approximation of a hug, or slowed his beeps so she could understand them better, or brushed his lens against her cheek in a poor imitation of a kiss. And she had answered, always, in the affirmative, when she pulled him closer and took care not to suffocate him, paid extra attention to his vocalizations, or reached for him to pull him in for a proper kiss.

There was only one way he could answer her now. He nodded, vigorously, her near-naked figure blurring in his vision. It didn’t matter. He’d remember his first sight of her like this till time itself ran out.

Maria grinned, white teeth gleaming in the crimson crescent of her lips, coquettishness instantly returning to her gaze. “Good. Very good. But I bet you’ll like this even better…”

She hooked her thumbs into her panties, drawing them down slightly, but as Cambot’s gaze followed, she pulled them back up, toying with the edges as her smile turned coy once again. Cambot tried to zoom in, but she was ready for him, never allowing him more than the briefest glimpse of what was underneath, revealing mere hints of skin as she eased them down further, then pulled them back up.

Finally, after much too long, she began to sway again, slowly, as she peeled the panties down her thighs with all the delicacy of a flower opening its petals. Tortured by the slow reveal, Cambot forced himself to remain in place. He couldn’t fall out of his hover. Not now.

At last, she lifted her thumbs and the panties dropped to her feet. Cambot indulged himself in another slow pan upwards as he took her in, naked save for her stockings, as if he were seeing her for the first time.

Maria allowed him a full minute’s look, her smile less teasing and more genuine now, before she sashayed past him to the bed, dropping onto it and lifting one leg at a time to slide her stockings off. Cambot savored every moment. There would be other nights like this one to come, he was sure of it, but there would only ever be one first night. He was determined to capture all of it, if only as a memory.

Fully naked now, Maria lay prone on the bed, doing her best centerfold pose as Cambot moved around for a better angle. From the end of the bed, he could see all of her now, could focus on any spot he liked or enjoy the whole view.

Maria tried a few more poses as Cambot watched, playful now as she threw some sillier ones into the mix, letting him soak up each and every angle she showed him.

After a minute or two of modeling, Maria held up a hand, and all Cambot could do was nod. As with everything about her from the day they had met, he had no idea what she might do next.

“Now here’s what you _really_ came for.” She winked. “Or, rather, what _I’m_ about to do…”

She reached for a small box beside her pillow that she must have placed there earlier; Cambot had noticed it, but decided not to ask. Opening it, she took out a small device that Cambot couldn’t identify; it was pink, made of silicone and phallus-shaped, with an accordion-like shaft at one end and a rabbit-ear prong extending about halfway up.

She noticed him tilting in curiosity and laughed a little, holding it up for his inspection. “Say hello to my little friend, Cambot.”

As he noticed the buttons, electrodes and just how the rabbit ears were positioned, Cambot’s lens opened. Oh… _oh._ So _that_ was her plan. He’d known she was going to turn things up a notch, but this…

Maria took the vibrator back and dabbed a clear gel on the tip and silver plates of the shaft, then balanced it on her legs while she applied a generous amount of lubricant between them. If he could draw breath, Cambot would have held it. She glanced at him, flashing a smile, for just an instant, before lying back and bending her knees.

She turned her gaze back to him as she took a few slow, steady breaths, then began to insert the device, never taking her eyes off him. Cambot held still, his own stare torn between hers and what she was doing between her legs.

Finally, when she was done, she grinned.

“It’s showtime,” she whispered.

It certainly was.

Cambot watched in fascination as she inflated the vibrator and switched it on, then pushed the buttons to just the right setting. She’d obviously done this before. Had she done it while thinking of him? Of imagining him watching her like this? He hummed at the thought.

Maria didn’t seem to notice as the shaft began to pulse inside her and the rabbit ears began to vibrate against her most sensitive spot. Her breathing was even at first, then gradually increased as feeling seemed to take over. Her eyes slipped closed as she was lost to the sensations, and Cambot was lost in _her._

He was no virgin viewer; he’d had internet access long enough to have had plenty of exposure to this sort of thing. Yet this was different — the woman in front of him was real, within reach, living and breathing and doing this just for _him._ She wasn’t following a script or taking direction, except through her own desire, and every move she made was for him alone.

Even better, _he_ was in control of what he could see. He could zoom in or out, pan up or down, focus on anything he wanted. She knew it, and she was playing to him, her free hand touching herself as if he were touching her, lingering only long enough to bring awareness before exploring somewhere else. He didn’t know how, but he could almost feel the softness of her breast in contrast to the hard peak of her nipple, the heat rising under her skin, the sheen of sweat beginning to glisten on her body.

Anyone could take a photo, film a video of a woman doing exactly this. Maybe she’d have a toy, maybe someone would be with her, maybe she’d be in a bed. And it would be exactly what the photographer was looking for, nothing more or less. But seeing their subject the way he was seeing her now — the low light bathing her curves, the careful strokes of her fingers around each breast, the growing ecstasy slowly spreading over her face — no porn director had ever pulled that off, and never would. For them, it was about capturing an image, titillating an anonymous audience. For him, now, it was about _her._

Even more so when she opened her eyes now to look right at him.

She’d turned up the vibrator a bit; its movements were more vigorous, the shaft lightly pumping inside her, but Cambot barely noticed. Her lips were parted now, her breath coming in pants as she expertly worked the device between her legs. She slipped a finger inside her mouth, sucked for a moment, and before Cambot had recovered from that glorious sight she had lowered the finger to her dark, full nipple. She brushed it, moistening the tip, and the moan she let out seemed to echo off the walls — or at least inside Cambot’s brain.

Her hips were bucking now, her feet flexing as if the bedspread was on fire, and she was gasping, moaning, making sounds Cambot could barely describe. Even so, she still didn’t shy away from him, occasionally casting him a look through her haze of pleasure that clearly said she was doing this _for him._

Indeed, he almost felt as if _he_ were the object between her legs, stimulating her, touching her in a way few others had, bringing her the most intense pleasure she’d ever experienced, making sure she was fully satisfied before he stopped.

He couldn’t do anything else. Not for _her._

She was starting to tremble now, her moans intensifying, barely keeping her grip on the device as it worked its magic inside her, on her, her hips lifting off the bed, and as Cambot stared, not wanting this to end but eager to see her finish, she cried out, her back arching and her head thrusting hard into the pillow as the glow of orgasm warmed her skin, and she just managed to look at him one last time.

Through her gasps and moans, he thought he heard his name.

He watched, mesmerized as she rode out her climax; it could have been seconds or minutes, he didn’t know or care, only noticing that it seemed to last a long time.

Finally, she began to calm down, lying flat on the bed as she relaxed, her pants slowing to breaths. When she seemed coherent enough to speak, she looked at him again. Her expression was joyful, loving, just the littlest bit self-conscious — everything he had seen before and yet had never seen all at once when she looked at him.

“Cambot, I…I…”

Cambot just nodded, understanding. After a moment, Maria nodded, too.

She lay there for a minute or two to recover, her breathing slowly returning to normal as she deflated and removed the vibrator. Cambot kept a careful eye on her, as much to make sure she was okay as to admire her a little longer.

Abruptly, she sat up, vibrator in hand, and kissed the fingertips of her free hand before touching him lightly. “Be right back.”

She darted out of the room, her departure nearly as much of a pleasure to watch as everything that had preceded it. He saw a light flick on, heard the sounds of shuffling in a cabinet, water running.

She returned a few minutes later wearing a pale blue bathrobe and with a now-clean vibrator, which she returned to its box before settling onto the bed, leaning against the headboard. Cambot hovered closer to her, and she reached for him, nestling him in the crook of her arm.

They laid together quietly for several minutes, listening to the rest of the music Maria had picked out. Cambot wasn’t paying much attention, instead focusing on the warmth of being held and the feel of her breath rising under her skin.

Of course, it was Maria who eventually spoke. “Well…I’d say that turned out pretty well. What do you think?”

Cambot beeped enthusiastically; Maria chuckled. “I’m glad you agree.” She snuggled him closer.

Another few minutes passed before she spoke again, more tentatively this time. “I kind of wish you could replay it.” She looked down at him. “But I know you didn’t record it.”

Cambot nodded. Even before they’d started dating, he had made it clear he would _never_ photograph or record her without her consent, even if he would be the only one seeing the pictures.

“You know,” Maria said thoughtfully, “maybe next time you should.”

Cambot just stared at her.

“Yeah. You could play it back whenever you want.” Maria leaned closer to him. “When you’re alone late at night. When you’re waiting in a long line. When you’re stuck at a boring family dinner — then again, I don’t know if there _is_ such a thing with your family.”

Cambot felt himself growing warmer at her words.

“Whenever you want to be with me and I’m not there — just cue up the recording and boom, there I am.” Maria’s voice grew slower, more seductive. “And then all you’ll see is me, dancing for you, undressing for you, before I’m finally lying naked underneath you, nothing between us.”

Cambot’s internal fan hummed louder.

“You’ll pause for a while, to admire me,” Maria went on. “But soon you’ll want more. So you’ll start playing again, waiting, just waiting for that moment when I look right at you and touch myself where I’ve always imagined _you_ touching me.”

Cambot could barely hear her now over the whirring of his engine.

“And who knows — maybe right that second, wherever I am, I’ll be thinking about you, too.” Maria’s voice dropped to a whisper. “But there’s no _maybe_ about it. Because from now on, I’ll _always_ be thinking about tonight. Thinking about you watching me. Thinking about being naked under you. Thinking about touching myself with nothing but you, my toy and your lens beside me…touching, stroking until I come apart before your eye…”

All at once, Cambot was blinded by a bright flash, heat overwhelming him as if he’d been thrown into a raging fire, his lens flying open for an instant before slamming shut.

He beeped, weakly, as he heard Maria call his name, before the darkness swallowed him whole.

o~O~o

There was an echo in the distance, a voice in the void, that Cambot could just barely make out. Little by little, as he slowly began to come back online, the echo took form, becoming more than just sound. First letters, then syllables, then a single, desperate word.

“…Cambot? Cambot!”

Cambot’s lens flickered open. A worried Maria was looking down at him. As his lens opened wider and his machinery slowly began to hum to life, she nearly collapsed with relief. “Oh, thank God you’re okay.”

Cambot beeped in acknowledgment. As awareness gradually returned to him, he felt something cold wrapped around his body. When Maria carefully shifted her grip to mold it around him, he realized it was a gel pack, secured in a towel.

As he began to regain himself, he realized they were still in her room, on her bed; the music was off and Maria had laid him next to her in the towel. Still in her robe, she was holding a battery-powered fan up next to him, with the hand that wasn’t gently holding him in the towel to keep him from rolling away.

“Sorry for pointing out the obvious,” Maria said, “but I think you overheated a little bit.”

Cambot chirped weakly in response; Maria laid a cool hand across him. “Too much processing power, huh?”

She spoke with concern, but her face held the tiniest hint of a smirk. Cambot beeped softly.

“Can I pick you up?” When Cambot beeped assent, she did so, cradling him close. He nestled in the folds of her robe, against the soft cushion of her breast. “Gotta say, I’ve never gotten quite that reaction before. Well, not just by talking. I like it.”

He’d done something new for her? Without even meaning to? If he hadn’t already overheated, Cambot might have spontaneously combusted. And here he had thought, somewhat guiltily, _she_ was doing everything for _him_ tonight.

“Apart from you overheating, of course. Sorry about that. Guess we’ll have to keep that in mind for next time. I don’t think we should mention it to Joel, though.” Maria put the fan down and lay back on her bed, placing him beside her without taking her hand away.

Cambot turned to look at her, stunned. Next time? There _was_ going to be a next time?

She laughed, gently, in his response to his flurry of beeps. “Of course, Cambot. I had a great time tonight. And I know you did, too.” She lifted him to press a kiss to his lens. “I couldn’t have done any of that if I didn’t feel like the sexiest woman in the world — and _you_ make me feel that way. No one else ever has.” She hugged him close, her voice suddenly thick. “Thank you.”

Cambot couldn’t believe no one had ever complimented her like that. He couldn’t even speak, and yet he made her feel more beautiful than any of her prior boyfriends had, just by looking and appreciating. Even so, compared to what she had done for him, was still doing for him, his own efforts seemed to pale in comparison. She had given him something even his creator hadn’t been able to — a human experience.

She knew what he was, saw him for what he was, and she not only accepted him, she embraced him. Of course he had known before what it meant to care for someone; Joel, Mike and the others had always been there for him. But with Maria, it was different. She wasn’t family; she hadn’t known him since the day he’d come to life. She had no need or obligation to accommodate him, give him new experiences, treat him as she would any other person she was in a relationship with — and yet from the day they had met, she had done all of that, out of nothing but feeling.

How did a ’bot get so lucky?

He contemplated that for a while as they lay on her bed together in silence, looking out the window at the darkening twilight.

“You know, I’m not tired yet,” Maria said. “Are you?”

Cambot shook from side to side.

“Well, we’ve still got the rest of tonight. We could watch a movie or…” Maria looked at him mischievously. “I got another outfit for tonight because I couldn’t decide between them. Do you want to see it?”

Cambot beeped loudly; Maria laughed. “Let me just go change. And get another cold pack. Do you know what a silk scarf feels like?”

Cambot shook from side to side; Maria smirked as she gave him a quick kiss before getting up. “Well, you’re about to find out.”

Cambot rose to his prior position by the bed as she went to her closet, carefully blocking his view as she grabbed a few items and headed for the door. Before stepping out, she turned back, flashing a grin as she hit him with one more surprise.

“Just so you know…I wasn’t totally kidding about you recording me.”

**Author's Note:**

> _To answer a question you never asked:[this](https://www.pourmoi.com/shop/intensity/) is Maria’s toy of choice. Kegels and pleasure for the price of one! (Not sponsored — obviously — although that would be cool. And admittedly a slippery slope.)_


End file.
